30-Jun-08: Coulthard Speaks About His Uncertain Future
This is F1 Minute and it’s the 30th June 2008.
David Coulthard is usually pretty quiet on the subject of his future, which never stops the silly season rumours from flying without abandon. However, today he’s spoken out a little about his future. What he actually says is that he doesn’t know what the future holds, and whilst he would love to keep driving, he knows that it’s very possible the coming race could be his very last British GP. He says there are worse things in life than not having a drive and when the time comes he will move on gracefully.
The BMW boys have differing opinions on how they will fare at this weekend’s race, with Heidfeld confident that the improvements from the recent test will help them get back to form. Kubica, meanwhile, says that their dismal French GP performance will hopefully kick everyone into a new gear, and that Silverstone needs to be a turning point for the team.
And finally, the boss of the Paul Ricard test track, Phillippe Gurdijan has retired and will concentrate on his new project – helping the Abu Dhabi circuit organisers.
That’s all for today, please join me again tomorrow for another F1 Minute.
19-May-08: Vettel to Suffer 5-Place Grid Drop in Monaco
Today is the 19th May and you’re listening to F1 Minute.
The Monaco Grand Prix weekend hasn’t even begun yet and already Sebastian Vettel has secured himself a five-place grid drop. After testing out the new STR3 at Paul Ricard last week, and saying he was looking forward to running the new car, Vettel has had a setback. The new car cannot house the gearbox in the same way as the old one, and so it will have to be replaced. Under current four-race gearbox rules, that means a 5-place penalty. Team mate Bourdais doesn’t suffer the same fate as he didn’t finish the last race in Turkey. Team owner Gerhard Berger has said: “Monte Carlo is the last place you want a punishment like that.”
Elsewhere, Frank Williams has admitted that he regrets splitting from former engine partners BMW, after seeing how well the manufacturer team is doing by itself. Williams blames the difficult relationship between the two factions on a lack of communication, but said he couldn’t fault BMW on their hard work and decent engines. He did make sure to complement current engine suppliers Toyota as well.
That’s all for today, I’ll be back tomorrow with another F1 Minute.
16-May-08: Trulli Finishes Final Test Day on Top
Welcome to F1 Minute for the 16th May.
The last day of testing at the Paul Ricard circuit was a wet affair with rain showers throughout the session. Trulli managed to set the fastest time during one of the breaks in the rain, ahead of Piquet in the Renault. For the past two days the track has been set up to imitate the demands of the Monaco street circuit, but this third day saw revisions made to replicate the Canadian circuit.
Heidfeld caused a red flag by running off track and damaging the suspension at the back of his car, and Sutil also caused a red flag in the last hour of the day.
Also today, the FIA have announced that Mosley won’t be attending any functions as an official representative of the organisation in Monaco. Mosley announced his intention to attend the race a while ago, and after rumours that the teams will try and avoid him, plus attempts to try and keep Prince Albert of Monaco from any embarrassing situations, Mosley will have to keep a low profile. Instead, deputy president Marco Piccinini will fulfill the duties. A statement said Mosley is in full agreement with this situation.
That’s all for this week, have a great weekend and join me on Monday for another F1 Minute.
15-May-08: Raikkonen Leads the Way at Paul Ricard
This is F1 Minute for the 15th May 2008.
The second day of testing at Paul Ricard saw Raikkonen on top for Ferrari, with Kovalainen second on the timesheets for McLaren. Raikkonen was not only fastest today but also beat Hamilton’s time from yesterday.
Sutil completed the fewest number of laps with 56 because he was sharing the test with Fisichella, who completed 64. They were at the bottom of the timesheets.
Nelson Piquet took over testing duties for Renault and finished eighth fastest, having completed the most number of laps - 193. However, it does appear that he needs to be putting the effort in, as the most recent Renault podcast has highlighted some doubts about his performance so far. Sporting Manager Steve Nielsen has said: “He needs to start having more good bits than the bad bits, and he needs to start doing that as soon as he can because Formula 1 is a business, it’s a very cutthroat business, and if people don’t deliver they go the obvious way.” He then went on to say that he’s sure Piquet can turn it around.
That’s all for today, please join me again tomorrow for another F1 Minute.
14-May-08: Hamilton Tops Timesheets on Day 1 at Paul Ricard
Today is the 14th May, welcome to F1 Minute.
The teams kicked off a three day test at the Paul Ricard circuit today, with Lewis Hamilton taking the initial lead. He posted the quickest time after completing the smallest number of laps. He was followed by Raikkonen in the Ferrari and Kubica was third fastest in the BMW.
Vettel got to drive the STR3 for the first time today, after Bourdais debuted it during the last test, and subsequently crashed it into the wall. Vettel finished the day in the middle of the timesheets, although he did cause one red flag during the day.
The other red flag came from Renault driver Luca di Grassi, who finished the day as the slowest driver on track.
Williams tested out a new piece of aerodynamics - trying out the engine cover fin as previously seen on the Red Bull and the Renault. And Honda were testing new variations on their dumbo-ears at the front of the car.
Elsewhere today, the Czech official who suggested Ron Dennis may have brought about the release of the Max Mosley video has apologised to McLaren.
That’s it for now, please join me again tomorrow for another F1 Minute.